THE FUTURE of the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation’s funding and investment was the focus of top-level discussions last week.
On Tuesday (13 September) the Leader of Thurrock Council, along with the Chief Executive and the development corporation’s Chair and CEO met with Bob Neill, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, to discuss the plans for the transfer of powers from the corporation to the council.
The corporation will close on 31 March 2012.
The meeting at the Department for Communities and Local Government in London was an opportunity for the council and the corporation to explain the progress that has been made on the transfer arrangements and the commitment both organisations have to working together to ensure the continuity and success of the borough’s regeneration programme.
Thurrock holds the key to economic success across the Thames Gateway – from the £1½ billion private sector investment at London Gateway (DP World) to the loosening of the A13-M25/Thames crossing transport bottleneck.
Cllr John Kent, Leader of Thurrock Council, said: “The council and the corporation are working closely to ensure a smooth transition of power and functions and the minister said he was pleased with the progress being made.
“I am delighted that from 1 October – six months ahead of the handover – co-ordination of all planning matters will be in place, providing clarity and certainty for developers and residents alike.”
Will McKee, Chair of the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation, added: “We have been working hard to ensure that our key regeneration projects pass critical delivery milestones as part of the handover arrangements to Thurrock Council.
“The satisfactory completion of these projects will deliver transformational and positive change for the borough and we wish our council partners well in continuing the future regeneration effort in the years to come.”
Are you sure Mr Kent? In the time you have been leader of the council you have not once given clarity to the residents, the only certainty here is the corruption.
Can anyone tell me what the councillors who have sat on the development corporation have done or said for the good of this borough apart from raking in large sums of money for themselves ?.
TTGDC was no more than Labour’s immigration dispersal framework for ensuring that their mass immgration policy was catered for in terms of providing housing for the hundreds of thousands of additional immigratnts that couldn’t be squashed into London. Thurrock has simply become the pressure release for these immigrants. So I’m sure the Comrade is delighted to be able to take over the approval of planning permission on green belt land to accommodate his party’s most cherished policies of mass immigration and multiculturalism.
Just another jolly for the lads, more money and more trips to see where and what they are going to spend all the money they will inherit, I am not aware that the old TTGDC as done anything for the people of Thurrock, as for helping the great mass of vehicles leaveing and arriving in Thurrock across the over paid for QE2 Bridge is a laugh, so far this council as always talked the good talk before the local controlled press, but nothing as ever been done for the residents who have had to listern to the constant droning of the traffic 24/7 and the AIR Pollution that as come with the bridge and the increased traffic levels, I am only hopeing this time, our Mr.Kent can get his act together, and actually do something positive for a change.I know the monies coming from the QE2 bridge is a good milking cow, the bridge was paid for by 2008 and the extra tunnel, so why Mr.Kent are we still paying for the privilege of crossing over our own bridge which makes in the region of £1/4 Million pounds aday?